Fernando Alonso feels 2012 was his best ever season

Championship runner-up Fernando Alonso believes that the 2012 season was the greatest of his career.

Alonso won three races and finished on the podium a further ten times in a car widely regarded as not the best in the field.

"I am happy with the way things went", said Alonso, speaking at the Ferrari finals day in Valencia.

"In the end, we lost the title by three points, however I did the best season of my life and now I can only think of the year to come", he added.

"It was a miracle to see, race after race, what we managed to achieve: we definitely did not lose the title in Brazil; that happened in Spa and Suzuka. Next year, we will try and improve the car, trying to start further up the grid, thus avoiding accidents. Let’s hope we also have a bit more luck…"

Alonso thinks that Ferrari's response to their Winter testing problems shows their greatness.

"I think in terms of strategy, pit stops, starts, reliability, this has been a perfect year. We all agree the one thing lacking was the car, which meant we could not match the best teams for most of the year."

"It’s the only thing we need to improve, but it’s also true that it’s the hardest thing to do. With all the difficulties we had, I’m thinking for example of how far behind we were in winter testing, to be able to fight right to the very end for the title means we are a great team."

The Spaniard also believes his team was correct to ask about Sebastian Vettel's pass on Jean-Eric Vergne.

"There were a lot of video clips on the Internet and we knew our fans were asking for an explanation and so it was right for Ferrari to turn to the Federation [FIA] for a clarification."

"We got a reply and I think everything has now calmed down. I did not pay much attention to all the uproar this incident caused, but I felt we owed our fans an answer. Frankly, I’m not that interested in what the opinion is of me in Germany or elsewhere. What I know is that people who see me in the streets hug me and call me gladiator or samurai."

"What matters to me are the 1200 people in the Ferrari family, who gave me a standing ovation at a dinner. This has been a spectacular year, hard to forget, with moments that will never be repeated like the win in Valencia or in Malaysia. Ever since I’ve been at Ferrari, I think I have grown a lot, especially this last year. Before, the people had a more or less good opinion of me, but now I notice a whole different level of respect. And then, to be one of the greats of Formula 1, it’s not enough to win titles, you must also tackle seasons like the one just ended. Next year? I hope to score three or four point more."